As soon as the calendar flips to February, there is a deafening sigh heard round the country.
That my friends is the collective sound of hundreds of sports information directors. Because February means … crossover season.
Otherwise known as when basketball collides head on with the spring sports.
For me, it is manageable since I do not have the daunting task of working both men's basketball and say baseball or softball (Godspeed and much admiration to those that do). The spring sport I have covered for my 10 years at Louisiana Tech is women's tennis.
Now, normally in February I am everywhere the Bulldog Basketball team is as they are in the heart of conference play. Meanwhile, the tennis team is typically playing everywhere other than Ruston so it is just a matter of waiting for a picture of the scorebook and texts about how the match went.
February 2022 was anything but normal.
Flashback to the fall and I recall being utterly speechless when receiving the tennis spring schedule from head coach
Amanda Stone. As I went through the match dates (starting in mid-January) and slowly made my way down through the opponents, I could not help but notice a lot of early home games.
Okay. Not normal, but not bad. But then it was home match after home match after home match. A whopping total of 18 of them. Included in that slate was nine straight, all coming in the month of February, to be played at the LA Tech Tennis Complex.
I thought, "This can't be right." But, it was.
To put into context how rare this is, here is a Fun Fact – the previous record for most scheduled home matches in school history was 12.
I remember the excitement around that home schedule too for the 2015 season. I also remember Mother Nature wreaking havoc on it, so much so the team only got to play half of those because of those famous two words for canceling outdoor sports … "inclement weather."
This February schedule not only dodged the cold and the rain, it also proved to be one of the most historic runs in LA Tech Tennis history.
And it certainly started off with a bang, facing rival ULM on February 2.
LA Tech had not beaten it's I-20 neighbor since 2004, having lost seven straight to the Warhawks. They had gotten close several times, including a 4-3 loss at home back in 2018. This time, a winning streak was started.
Due to needing to catch a flight for Boca Raton, Florida with men's basketball, I was only able to watch the first few games of doubles. We were down on all three courts, and so I left with a somber feeling. But, as I took my phone off airplane mode and started checking my text messages after we landed I received word we had won, 4-3.
Heck yeah!
I got to be in attendance for their next home match against McNeese State the following Sunday, which was a dominating 4-0 shutout victory (and oddly the first time I ever saw two players withdraw due to injury).
Two straight.
The winning streak hit four the next weekend with convincing 5-2 wins against Oral Roberts and Texas State. Then came a tough test versus Sam Houston, a team LA Tech had lost to three straight times. No matter though because they won the doubles point and got key points on courts five and six in singles to prevail, 4-3.
The next match was a victory as well, but a little different since it was the first time they had won when dropping the doubles point. They ended up overpowering Murray State in singles for a 4-1 win.
Make that six straight.
Now to close out the month, three matches in four days.
First up, a Conference USA showdown with Middle Tennessee. I was not present for that one either due to my travels to Texas, but for those who were, I am told it was cold. Not just cold, but COLD.
The temperature barely cracked 40 degrees that day, but even so LA Tech came out red hot. They won the doubles point and got up a set on all six singles courts. "Easy peasy" I'm thinking as I get updated texts.
Then the texts stopped coming in. And I got worried. The match turned on a dime and the Blue Raiders mounted a comeback. Ultimately, the match was tied up at 3-3 with the deciding point coming down to court one where
Leonie Schuknecht was trailing in the third set. However, the sophomore held serve at 5-all and then broke before unleashing the word, "OUT!," as the ball hit beyond the baseline and her teammates, loaded down in thick jackets and blankets, rushed the court to give her a big hug.
Make that seven straight.
Coming off a big win like that can be tricky for the next match. And this was another against a rival in Arkansas State.
It was emotional to say the least. So much so that one of the Red Wolves players yelled at me as I watched on. Maybe she didn't like me cheering so loud (cause if you have never been to a college tennis match, cheering and yelling is highly encouraged).
Anywho. LA Tech pulled off another comeback, dropping the doubles point before rallying in singles for a 5-2 victory.
Make that eight straight. And win No. 10 on the season.
Then on the final day of February came the first ever meeting versus Tarleton State. And boy was it a loud one. Typically about half the courts will have players who are vocal after winning points, but this one was intense to say the least.
At first, I thought this was going to be a quick one since LA Tech won 6-0 on courts two and three to claim the doubles point. I was wrong. The Texans ended up tying things at 2-2 with the three remaining singles matches going into a third set.
Schuknecht came out on top 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 on court one. Then on the back courts,
Ilana Tetruashvili grinded out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win at the No. 4 position. INTENSE.
Make that nine straight!
And as a cherry on top of the undefeated February was the team setting a new program record for longest home winning streak.
It was certainly a month to remember.
